OTHER EVENTS

Chancellor search on schedule; interviews being scheduled

The search for a new Chancellor is under way and on schedule. The committee has been busy reviewing applicants and has narrowed the pool of prospects to just over a dozen people. Through the reference check process, that list will be narrowed further, with fewer than 10 candidates moving to the next phase. Initial interviews will take place off campus Jan. 23–24. Finalists will be invited for on-campus interviews in mid-February. The committee will assemble and circulate a schedule of opportunities for faculty and staff to meet the finalists.

Troy and Mary Burrus establish scholarship

Troy Burrus (’88) and Mary Burrus (’87, ’90) have established the Troy and Mary Stonaker Burrus Endowed Scholarship at Auburn University at Montgomery. This scholarship is for students enrolled in any program at AUM who have a minimum GPA of 3.05 on a 4.0 scale.

Mary Stonaker Burrus retired from the Air National Guard in March 2015. She began her military career as an enlisted airman and was commissioned as an information management officer after she completed her B.S. in Mathematics and M.Ed. from Auburn Montgomery. After teaching high school mathematics for three years, Mary accepted a full time position with the Air National Guard, where, over the course of her career there, she served as a mission support group commander; the director of Manpower, Personnel, and Services; and a Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellow assigned to Johnson & Johnson at their corporate headquarters.

Troy Burrus graduated from Auburn Montgomery with a B.S. in Business Administration, majoring in Accounting. After working as an accountant in Birmingham, Atlanta, and Knoxville, Troy worked as a special agent with the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Birmingham and then Washington, D.C., until he was promoted to senior analyst in 2010. In July 2012, he was selected to be a supervisory special agent and, in October 2015, moved to the Seattle, Wash., office of the Internal Revenue Service as an assistant special agent in charge.

Troy and Mary met as students at Auburn Montgomery and have been married for more than 25 years. Throughout their careers, they never have forgotten their roots at AUM, as evidenced by their recent gift to the university. “It’s our way to give back to an organization that was there for us,” Mary said, “and that allowed us to get our higher education in a way that worked for us.”

“It has been a pleasure meeting Mary and Troy and an honor to have worked with them to establish this generous endowment for our students,” said Marilyn Ray, Associate Vice Chancellor for Advancement.

Parking spaces reallocated near Athletics Complex

Based upon parking patterns and spot usage, 30 parking spots previously marked as orange faculty/staff reserved spots have been reallocated to white general spaces. The reallocated spaces are located between the Athletics Complex and Education Building, running parallel to the tennis courts. A total of 65 orange reserved parking spaces remain in this area around the Athletics Complex and between the Athletics Complex and the Education Building. It has been observed over recent months that only about 60 of the 95 total spaces in this area were consistently used. The reallocation will allow more spaces for general parking.

Learning Center Tutoring Hours

The first day of Spring Semester 2016 tutoring is Wednesday, Jan. 13.

Learning Center — WASC, 2nd floor Library Tower

Monday–Thursday | 9 a.m.–6 p.m.

Friday | 9 a.m.–12 p.m.

North Commons

Monday | 4–6 p.m.

Wednesday | 4–6 p.m.

Instructional Support Lab, Goodwyn Hall 203

Monday–Thursday | 9 a.m.–9 p.m.

PEOPLE

Olson featured in 'U.S. News and World Report,' ‘O’ magazine

Dr. Michele Olson, professor in the Department of Kinesiology, was recently featured in U.S. News and World Report regarding her work on developing algorithms for cardio equipment in the fitness industry and on how and why the read-out information on cardio machines, such as calories burned, is frequently inaccurate (by as much as 30 percent). For those who frequently use elliptical machines, stair steppers, and electronic cycles, you can read the full text here. This is Olson's second time as a noted expert this year in U.S. News and World Report.

Olson also was recently quoted by “O” magazine in December for her expertise on abdominal conditioning. Read the feature here.

Hughes earns accreditation in public relations

Megan Hughes, Senior Manager for Marketing & Communications in AUM’s College of Business, has successfully completed the Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations, entitling her to use the APR professional designation. The Universal Accreditation Board, a consortium of nine professional communication organizations that directs this competency certification program, made the announcement.

The accreditation program aims to improve the practice of public relations by assessingcompetence in 60 areas of knowledge, skills and abilities associated with the profession. The examination is designed for public relations professionals with five to seven years of job experience and/or a bachelor’s degree in a communication field. Candidates who successfully complete the rigorous process, including presenting a portfolio to a Readiness Review panel of three peers and sitting for a computer-based Examination, are granted the APR designation.

"Earning my APR was very important to me," said Hughes. "It certainly wasn't an easy task, but then again, if it were easy, everyone would have this designation!" She added, "I couldn't have done it without the support of Dr. Rhea Ingram or Dr. Katherine Jackson. They both supported me along this journey and that's not something every PR professional can say. For that I feel very fortunate."

Former AUM students published in 'Works of Ben Jonson'

AUM students are surprisingly well represented in the recently published Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson, according to Dr. Bob Evans of the Department of English and Philosophy. Jonson, a contemporary and friend of Shakespeare, was a poet and dramatist who lived from 1572–1637.

The new edition of his complete works, published both in print and online by Cambridge University Press, supersedes the older Oxford edition (prepared from 1925-1952) and is likely to last well into the 21st century, Evans said.

“A number of the works cited in the Cambridge edition were prepared by students at AUM and were published in academic journals in the late 1990s and early 2000s,” Evans noted.

Most of these works were bibliographical in nature, but a number were also historical and interpretive.

Among the former AUM students whose works are referred to in the edition are Lynn Bryan, John Burdett, Katie Magaw, Kurt Niland, and Jon Wright.

Evans said that a number of other students have also published on Jonson in various academic journals and books. These students include Kimberly Barron, Clint Darby, Dan Davis, Eric Atkins, Deborah Hill, Ann O’Clair, and Carolyn Young.

“AUM has a long track record of getting its students — even undergraduate students — published in serious scholarly outlets,” Evans noted, “and the fact that the work of these students is cited by the various Cambridge editors is a nice tribute to the students’ hard work. I often tell students that good, solid bibliographical work never loses its relevance, and it’s nice to see that statement confirmed in this way.”

Fletcher to present at College Goal Tennessee

The Office of Admissions is happy to announce that AUM Admissions Counselor Lauran Fletcher will present at College Goal Tennessee 2016 with Taylor King from Columbus State University. The presentation is titled “Back to Your Future: What you should know about preparing for college.”

The purpose of the presentation is to provide a timeline for the admissions process/college search, explain how to organize and gather information, and discuss how to navigate campus visits, and to answer other questions students may have.

Simmons' proposal for paper on Eusebius and Porphyry accepted for reading at meeting

The proposal for a paper submitted by Michael B. Simmons, Professor of History, has been accepted by the executive committee of the North American Patristics Society to be read at its annual meeting (May 2016) in Chicago. Titled “The Theophany Book V: The Case of Eusebius and Porphyry,” the paper will contain hermeneutical and exegetical analyses of key texts in Syriac and Greek that demonstrate that Eusebius is responding to the polemical (anti-Christian) works Contra Christianos (Against the Christians) and Philosophy from Oracles of Porphyry of Tyre. The paper is a part of a larger research project for Simmons’ next book, Eusebius of Caesarea: A Theology of Salvation History.

Amoroso published in 'Asia Pacific Journal of Information Systems'

Don Amoroso, Lowder-Weil Endowed Chair and Professor of Information Systems in AUM’s College of Business, has published a research paper entitled “Exploring the Personal Innovativeness Construct: The Roles of Ease of Use, Satisfaction and Attitudes” in the Asia Pacific Journal of Information Systems.

“This research paper looks at the variables that are involved in a consumer’s repurchase intention and adoption with mobile applications,” said Amoroso.

“The research results found that personal innovativeness, early acceptance of an innovation, was strongly correlated to repurchase intention. Personal innovativeness also explained consumer satisfaction through attitude of the consumer. This research helps to define personal innovativeness and its impact on consumer repurchase intention and is important to online retailers who count on repeat sales. Online retailers may build factors that encourage personal innovativeness, such as co-creation through user participation in consumer focus groups.”

Dr. Erin Reilly and Andria Walker, both of the Department of Kinesiology, sponsored a night of family fun, sharing information about nutrition and fitness at Brewbaker Primary School in Montgomery. The service, provided to parents and children, has been well received by the community. Read more here.

Drs. Reilly and Williford and Ms. Walker also provided several key presentations, many of which included students, at the Alabama State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Conference in Birmingham, Ala., in late November. The presentations included:

Dr. Michele Olson, professor of kinesiology, also led a session entitled "High Intensity Interval Training: HIIT or MIss?" and co-authored a poster presentation with graduate student Holly Clarke on research they conducted about metabolic training.

Chon’s article accepted by ‘Homicide Studies’

Dr. Don Chon, assistant professor in Department of Justice and Public Safety, recently had his solo-authored research article accepted for publication in Homicide Studies. The article's title is "National Religious Affiliation and Integrated Model of Homicide and Suicide."

Yarber-Allen appointed department chair

Congratulations to Dr. Annice Yarber-Allen on being appointed the new department chair for the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Geography in the College of Public Policy and Justice.

Farrow participates in Russian-American roundtable

Dr. Lee A. Farrow, director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching and Distinguished Teaching Professor in History, participated in a roundtable on teaching Russian-American relations at the recent conference of the Association of Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies in Philadelphia. Farrow spoke about the importance of teaching Russian history to American students and how such interactions can create a higher degree of understanding and interest in Russia and its rich culture. Farrow’s comments, along with those of her fellow panelists, were recently quoted in an article on the website Russia Direct.

EVENTS

MLK Reflections Breakfast takes place Jan. 19

The Auburn Montgomery Martin Luther King Jr. Reflections Breakfast will take place Jan. 19, challenging all students to “Keep the ‘Dream' relevant today and beyond!"

The guest speaker at the breakfast will be Douglas Jones, Esquire, of Jones and Hawley P.C.

Jones was lead attorney in the successful prosecution of two Ku Klux Klan members in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala.

The breakfast if free and open to the public, however seating is limited.

AUM Connected: Watch 'The Painted Veil'

AUM Connected host a screening of “The Painted Veil,” a 2006 film starring Ed Norton as a British doctor and Naomi Watts as his wife, fighting a cholera epidemic in a 1920’s Chinese village. Free pizza and drinks for those who stay for the movie.

Political Film Series

The Political Film Series, sponsored by the College of Public Policy & Justice, is featuring another semester of exciting films.

On Jan. 25 (7 p.m., Goodwyn Hall 112), the 1985 award winning movie The Official Story, one of the first Argentinian films focusing on the Dirty War of the 1970s, will be introduced by Dr. Tim Henderson.

For Black History Month, Fruitvale Station (2013), a dramatization of Oscar Grant’s tragic death by a police officer in the Bay Area, will screen on Feb. 17 (7 p.m., Goodwyn Hall 112) following an introduction by Dr. Annice Yarber-Allen.

The International Women’s Day feature on March 8 (7 p.m., Library Tower, 10th floor West), introduced by Dr. Silvia Giagnoni, is Vanishing Borders (2014). The documentary tells the story of four immigrant women living in New York City.

The January, March and April screenings are co-sponsored by the College of Arts & Sciences. All films are free, open to the public, and made possible thanks to a grant from the Ida Belle Young Special Projects Fund.

For more information, contact Dr. Pia Knigge at pknigge@aum.edu or 334-244-3834.

Homecoming Week starts February 1

Mark your calendars for Homecoming Week 2016, which take place February 1-6, 2016. To view the full list of Homecoming Week events, see the Homecoming page.

Chinese New Year celebration set for Feb. 7

The AUM Confucius Institute is partnering with the Central Alabama Association of Chinese (CAAC) to host AUM’s Chinese New Year celebration on Feb. 7. Performances will be followed by dinner.

This year, the celebration will include performances such as professional folk dance, lion dance, and Chinese acrobats. Participants will also enjoy and appreciate Chinese Kung Fu, traditional musical instrument, and K-pop dance.

“Chinese Lunar New Year, also called the Spring Festival, is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays,” says Dr. Eric Yang, dean of the AUM Confucius Institute and director of East Asia Initiatives. “It is the most anticipated celebration of the year in China. We are excited to be collaborating again with the CAAC for this festive celebration since our two organizations share the goal of increasing understanding about China in Alabama.”

Baxley, Jones to speak about experiences gaining convictions in church bombing

Former Lt. Governor Bill Baxley and attorney Doug Jones will discuss their two separate experiences reopening and winning convictions in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church case in Birmingham, Ala. Baxley and Jones will use this structured forum to explore the racial climate in Alabama during the time when the bombing happened, and they will discuss highlights of their own struggles to gain the convictions.

Haddix to speak about pigment function in bacterium for College of Arts and Sciences lecture series

The Department of Biology's Pete Haddix will give a lecture, "Red pigment function in the bacterium Serratia marcescens," on Feb. 11.

Research conducted in Haddix's laboratory has begun to define how a red pigment made by the bacterium Serratia marcescens may function to improve energy storage in cells and serve as an antioxidant that protects the cells’ genetic material from damage.

Thursday | Feb. 11 | 7:30 p.m. | Library Tower, 10th floor West

REMINDERS

Alumni Association membership rates to increase in January

The Auburn Montgomery Alumni Association is continually expanding its efforts to engage alumni and friends of AUM through campus events and programming. Alumni Association membership not only provides great benefits to our members but also supports alumni association activities as well as scholarships and faculty awards.

Effective January 1, 2016, annual alumni and annual friend membership categories will increase by $10. All other categories, including life and new graduate membership categories, will remain at the same rates. This will be the first membership rate increase in more than a decade.

*Life memberships are available only to graduates or those that completed academic courses at AUM.

Membership supports AUM and its programs but also benefits alumni by providing discounted rates at the AUM Wellness Center, home and auto insurance discounts, and much more. For a complete list of benefits, visit alumni.aum.edu.

The Wellness Center will be a private weigh-in site for Scale Back Alabama, so grab a teammate and sign up now!

Kickoff is January 25, and the program will continue for 10 weeks through April 17. All full-time employees are encouraged to sign up at www.scalebackalabama.com.

Free access to the Wellness Center will be granted for two weeks. There is a required minimum of 3 visits per week to the Wellness Center in order to gain 3 additional weeks of free access.

The Alabama Department of Public Health will award prizes to all participants. Also, full-time employees of AUM who participate through the Wellness Center will be eligible for a free, one-year membership to the Wellness Center. Eligibility requires that both teammates lose at least 10 pounds each during the 10-week program.

See who you know in Campus Life

AUM’s Campus Life page is frequently updated to show photographs of people, events and life around campus. See who you know — or see yourself — in the Campus Life photo album and in this month’s photo slideshow.